Cleaner.



W. T. SHAPER.

GLEANBR. APPLICATION FILED MAY 17, 1911.

1,040,038. Patented 001.11912.

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CLEANER. APPLIATION FILED MAY 17, 1911.

.to l y so as to permit the escape of'air but check WILLIAM T. SHAFFER,F EVANSTON, WYOMING.

specification pf Letters patent. v

- f CLEANER.

r Patented O ct. 1,1912.

Applicationiled May 17,1911. Serial No. 627,802. 1

To alljvho'r 'itmdy concernl a citizen` of the' United States). residingat Evanston2 in the'county of Uinta and State of Wyoming, have inventedVcertain new and useful Impr ovements'- in` Gleaners and I1 do declare`the following to be a full, olear,'

and exact description of the invention,- such a'swill enable othersskilledjin the art to .which it appertains to make and use the same.

, plan view ofthe closure for the passage be-V rThis inventionrelates'to pneumatic clean-l y ers,'and more' especially 'to those thate'm-U- ploy a rotary4l brush or head 'for sweeping or a suction nozzleor head for dusting; and

thevobj'ect of the same is tolproduce various improvements inafmachineof this character.-

To this endl the invention consists in andlin other .features as willappear in the following specilication and claims, and a shown in thedrawings wherein- Figure. 1 is a .side elevation vof this .unifi chinecomplete. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section. Fi 3 is a planview.` Fig.

4 is arear elevation. F ig. 5 'is a bottom tween the agitator and fanand its guides.

Fig. 6 isa detail of its spring. Fig. 7 is a perspective detail of thedetachable connec tion between the brush or `'head andy its supportingsh ift.

In the drawings the numeral 1 .designates broadly.A the vcasing which.is ,of'boX-shape yhaving at aboutthe center of its length an uprightpartition 2 rising nearly to its'top 3 which is closed,l and in rear ofthis partition a bottom tupon which moves-a drawer` 5 capable of beingdrawn out the rear end y. of the casing .to dump the dust. Above thedrawer is a longitudinal support 6 for an upright battle' 7 havingthroughoit holes 8, forward of this balie ,another one numbered Qdepends from the top 3 and is also provided with'holes-B, and in rear ofthe inn termedi'ate'bale'7 another baiie .10 depends from the top 3 butis by preference made solid;` while the casing in rear of thissolid'baiiie has holes 11 covered with `niuslin 12 "projecting nose 13 whose-lower'front -end carries rollers 14 :which `will travel upon the flooror pavement being swept, and'ih. rear i of the nose and 'between'it andthe uprightA Be 1t known that L'WILLIAMT. SHAFFER..

vpartition2 is an opening for the fan yet to' be; described.Obviously-this :tan draws 'the dirt and dust upward and .passes it overthe upper edge of said partition 2 in rear ofwhich it'takes a tortuous'course around the ivarious baflles and through. the holes 8, the 'airfinally passing through the muslin 1-2 andv out the holes 11 and thedust and vparticles of dirt lfalling'into the drawer 5.

whence' itmay be removed from time te time;

r1 he support -for the casing\consists of a pair of traction wheels 15fast upon a shaft 1-6. which extends; lthrough the casingl just lnfrearof the partition 2; andfrom the sides of the'casing rise handles 17connected wardby hand like an' ordinary baby car-.-

3 at their upper lextremities'by a cross bar 18 rso that the devicev maybe propelled forcertain improvements in the dust receptacle,

riage. 4' Ihe wheels 15 have rubber tires 19 so that they will cling tothe floor orpaveav ment and will be paused,l tofrevolve as the device ispropelled, although if their revolution is not desired the `cross bar 18is raised and the rollers 14 support the frontend of the casing, but onthe otherhand,doWnward lpressure on said cross Vbar forces the rubbertires more firmly onto" the vfloor and causes'the positiverotation ofthe traction wheels asfwill be understood.

fiX'ed upon an upright shaft 22 which is suitably mounted in ,the casing'pask shown, and it revolves within a circularl opening 23 formed intheforwardfpart-of the casing in front of the partition 2 so that all airpassingupward must pass through the -fan and is thereby directed overthe partition in the manner above mentioned. The opening 23 is disposed'withnalaupright passage forwardV of, said `partition 2 and connects theupper front, portion of the dust-receptacle lhe fan `bestillustratedinFig.' 2 comy ,prises propeller blades 20 whose hub 21 is` withtheupper rear portion of the; chamber beneath the' nose13. y y.

The agitator is indicated at 30V`as a brush` head adaptedto stir up ,oragitate the dirt upon the floor or pavement as it is rotated. It isbypreference circular and ofa size to stand mostly under thenose 13 and toprof ject a little underthe fan as shown in Fig. 2'. .'On its upper sideit carries two ears 31 through which passesa pin 82 removably cdnnectihgit with an eye 33 atthe lower end' of a shaft 34 which extendsupward-through the nose 13 and is* journaled therein at 35',l

above which it rises in front ofthe casing 1 and passes through abracket 36Y which is mounted upon the vfront upper corner of the f.casing 1 and has an upright portion 37.

which carries a bolt 38. The latter engagesI a slot 39 in an L-shapedplate 40 whose up- 'per end rests beneath the hub 41 of a gear- Wheel 42by which the brush is driven.

Thus it will be seen that the brush head may."

be removed by withdrawing 'the pin, and some other form of agitatingdevice substituted; also that by loosening the nut on the bolt 38 andadjusting the plate 40 the j height of the brush may be adjusted asdesired, although it is intended'that itsl bristles shall stand just atrifle below the rollers 14 as shown in Fig. 2.

- The driving mechanisin'consists of a-large power wheel or gear 50mounted fast upon the shaft 16 and engaging a driven wheel 51 which isfast Ona counter'shaft 52 journaled in a frame 53 which is' carried bythe casing 1, and the inner end of this counter shaft has a beveled gear54. The numeral 55 designates an upright shaft having a 'beveled gear 56engaglng that numbered 54, also having a horizontal driving gear 57which engages a somewhat smaller and rather thick gear 58 that'ismounted loosely on the fan shaft 22 and in turn engages the gear 4 2 soas to'v drive the brush. Thecentral gear wheel 58 is made rather thicksothat the gear 42 which drives the,y brushmay move up and' down thereonas necessary when the height of the brushl is adjusted; land while saidgear 58 is loose on the fan shaft 22, I

connect it therewith by a backing ratchet '60' (whose description need4not be elaborated) in order that when. the device is' being propelledforward the fan will 4berotated in the proper direction to drawin air,butwhen the device is drawn to the rear the fan will still run. forwardunder'its mo' mentum but will. notbe driven in a reverse direction whichwould draw the dust undesirably out of the casing.

In use a stiff brush is applied if a pavement orcoarse Hoor is to beswept, and a ner brush if a finer oor is to be treated, and the same isvadjusted at the proper height` with respect to the rollers 14. Theoperator grasps the cross bar between the handles and propelsthe-machine forward over the oor -or pavenent, and the power set` up bythe clinging of the tires ofthe i tractionwheels'15 upon the floor orpavef so ment,';causes the driving gear 57 to rotate.

The thick gear 58 is thereby caused to turn.,

as also the. gear 42 which through the-shaft ldrives the brush 3 0constantly in the proper4 direction;v and when the machined-is beingmoved forward the thick gear through the ratchetGO rotates the fan inthe forward' direotiom-,whereas the fan 'runs under its 62 and nozzle63";

momentum if the machine is drawn backward fora little distance, and atany rate vwill never Vbe driven backward.` The dust -and dirt agitatedby the brush4 is sucked upwardlby the fan 'and passed over the upperedge of the partition 2, whence it takes a tortuous course through andaround the b ailes 9 and 7 an'd against the baiile 10, fromA whichitfalls into the drawer 5 and is removed from time to time, the clear airpassing out through ,the holes 11 and the muslin 'preventing the passagetherethrough of the dust and dirt. If it be desired to pass Iover somevobstruction, such as a door sill, the

-cross bar i's depressed so that the rollers 14 and brush rise xa trifleAoff-'the Hoor; on the other hand if it be desired to scrub or brush thefloor verythoroughly, the brush is ad- 'justeda little lower and then byraising the cross bar on the handlesA the bristles of the "brush will beforced downward onto the best seen in Fig. 2, the support 6 abovementioned is made tubular, its front end'- opening through the uprightpartition 2 into.

said passage andits rearend being threaded and closed by a removablecap' 61', and when the latter is detached a hose`62 having asi1c' tionhead or nozzle 63 can be attached as 'will be clear, the form `of thelatter being imma'- terial. Within the passage-beneath the .fan

is' a closure consisting of two fixed panels '66 and 66 spaced apart soas to leave an opening 70 between them, anda door 64 sliding-on theguides63 and adapted tobe pushed over said opening so as 'to close it.

-One of the fixed panels has -a spring 67 adapted'jto bear upwardbeneath'the door 64 when vthe latter is closed. This .isV done bygrasping its handle`65 and shoving it in thedirection of the arrow alongthe guides 63, so that the opening 70 is closed at a point beneath thefan; after which the rotation x of the latter creates suction throughthe tubular' supporto and hence through the hose At this time the'brushwill obviously .be raisedl olf the floor, and i .although it rotates itwill perform -no func-` tion. Then the device is used as a vacuumcleaner of this type, it is propelled-*along theloor by one hand whiletheoperato-r holds the nozzle 63 inhis other hand and moves it along thewall or furniture or holds it in contact with otherl articles tobe-cleaned` by the' suction process, the air and-.dust

takenin obviously flowingalong the pipe 62, through the tubularsupporto, upward through -the fan, and thence into the drawer 4 by thecourse a'bove'outlined.v

-What is claimed as new is: l Y 1. In a cleaning machine, thecombinationwith a casing having a transverse partition -with adust-receptacle in rear of it, a nose extending forward from the casing'and leaving the front portion. of the bottom of the latter open, farotary brush vdisposed within the open portion of said bottom,

-and an upright shaft to which, the brush is secured; of a fan locatedwithin the casy ing forward .of said partition, an upright shaft onwhich it is fast, and means for rotating said shafts. v

2. In a cleaning machine, the combinationv with a casing having anupright transverse partition and its'bottom closed in rear thereof, adust-drawer above said bottom, the

front portion of'the bottom being open, and

abr'ush withinvthe open portion; of a rotary fan within the casingforward of said par` tition,. ari-upright shaft on which the fan isfixed, va wheel mounted loosely on said shaft, means forrotating thewheel in either direction, a backing ratchet between said wheel andfan-shaft for the purpose described, andconnections between the -wheeland the brush.,

3. In a cleaning machine, the combination with a casing having atransverse partition i 30 with a dust-receptacle in rear of it, anoseextending forward from the casing and lea\fing the front portionof thebottom of the latter open, a rotary brush disposed within the openportion of said bottom, an upright shaft to which the brush issecured,and a gearat the upper end of the shaft; of a fan located within'thecasing forward of said partition, an4 upright shaft on which -it is,

- fast, a thick gear loose `on this shaft andin .constant mesh with thegear 'on the brush- -shaft, means'for rotating the thick gear in eitherdirection, and a backing ratchet'between this geai` and the fan shaft.`

4. In a cleaning machine, the combination with a. casing,afdust-receptacle in its rear portion, and a nose projecting forwardfrom 4thefront of the casing; of a brush disposed beneath said nose, ,anupright shaft' journaled through said nose and connected at its lowerend with said brush, a bracket on the casing in which 'said shaft isjournaled, a

`bolt in this bracket, a gear fast `on the upper end of the shaft, anL-shaped plate whereof A onermember surrounds the shaft beneath the hubof the gear and the other yis provided with a slot in which said bolt isadjustable,

means for driving'said gear. 5. In-a cleanmg machine, the combinationwith a casing, a dust-receptacle in its rear for driving one of saidgears,l

` witnesses.

portion, a rotary-fan disposed in is--front portion, and a noseprojecting'forward from the front ofthe casing; of a brush disposedbeneath said nose, an upright shaft jour,-

naled through said nose and connected at its lower end with said'brush,a'bracket on the lcasing inwhich said shaft is journaled, a bolt inthis' bracket, a gear fast on the upper i end ofthe shaft, an Lshapedlate whereof one member surrounds the sha t beneath the hub of thegearand the otheris provided Awith a v erticalslot in. which said boltis ad- .justable, a gear on the fan shaftv meshing with the gear on thebrush-shaft, andv rreans' 6. In a cleaning machine, the combinationportion, a rotary7 fan disposed in its front portion, and a noseprojecting forward fromy the front -of the casing; ofy a brush disposedbeneath said nose, an upright shaft jourf naled through said nose andconnected at its Zlowerend with said brush, a bracket on" the 7. Inamachine of the class described, the,

Q95 -wheels and'having anose `at its front por-Al` tion openingdownwardly and a dust re-v ceptacle at its rear portion, a brushdisposed combination with a casing mounted onwithin vsaid nose,connections between it and Said wheels for driving .the brush whicheverway the machine is propelled, a fan disposed between said receptaclevandbrush, and connections between it and said wheels for rotating thefan when the machine is propelled in one direction only; Iof a closurebetween the fan and brush, and a tube communicating with the spacebetween the fan and closureand leading to the vexterior of.

the casing where it is adapted to be closed Y f vIl()A have hereunto Yor to receive a suction nozzle` In testlmony whereof IA set my hand inpresence of two subscribingj`` Witnesses DANIEL GERRARD,

JAMES DO WNS.

i WILLIAM T. SI-IAFFER.

